10/01/2026
Thank You Edwardsburg Observer for the shout out! I feel like LPOM has really made it now!! 😂🙌🏻 Keep up the good work and bringing us all the laughs! You are appreciated!!
New Sign Offers Alternative For Less Enthusiastic Residents
By Edward Sburg
EDWARDSBURG - It’s said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and one local hustler has found a way to capitalize on the only thing more prevalent on Edwardsburg porches than seven-box-high stacks of Amazon packages.
Houses and businesses throughout the village triumphantly display their “Proud To Be An Eddie” signs. Each wooden sign is handmade by local artist Marcy Metzger, with local boutique Little Pieces of Me offering them for sale when Metzger isn’t hosting a porch sale.
Local serial entrepreneur Drew Traceman has always admired the signs, but wondered why every resident didn’t have one. After talking to a few neighbors on their conspicuously sign-free porches, he struck upon an idea.
“A lot of people are really proud to be from Edwardsburg. They love the small town feel, the Memorial Day parade, the way everyone knows everyone’s business, so you save yourself the trouble of having to tell them,” said Traceman. “Those signs are great for those people. But what about the people who are ambivalent?”
Traceman created the “Just OK Being An Eddie” sign for that group.
“Do you love that Homecoming is the biggest day of the year, but also recognize that it’s a little sad because that’s about all the village has?” Tradesman asked rhetorically. “Could you move away tomorrow and be perfectly fine, but you’re also good with sticking around for a while longer? Do you avoid joining groups because you’re weary of being swept up in the fervor of the crowd because that’s what led to the French Revolution and people getting their heads chopped off? Well, these signs are for you.”
The first customer was local resident Greg Hensley, who purchased one Tuesday and said the sign accurately reflects his feelings toward the village.
“I like Edwardsburg. It’s fine. I’ve lived here 18 years. Schools are good, library is nice, the roads are mostly there. Every once in a while I think ‘Maybe I should move somewhere more interesting,’” Hensley said. “Then I remember I’d have to pack everything.”
Hensley said he placed the sign on his front porch but has already received several questions about it.
“People keep asking me if something happened,” he said. “I tell them no. That’s kind of the whole point.”
Traceman is already considering expanding his offerings with smaller signs that read “Shy To Be An Eddie” designed to be discretely placed on bookshelves.
Traceman said he is also considering a third option reading “It’s Fine, I Guess,” although he acknowledged that the phrase may be too enthusiastic for some residents.